Customer Reviews

The Gangs of Los Angeles

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is the culmination of five years I spent researching the history of LA's gang culture. I've been a gang cop (both in a CRASH unit and as a gang detective) in this city almost two decades, and I'd heard all the urban legends about the origins of the Crips, the Bloods, White Fence, MS-13, etc. Little of it made sense, and it seemed you could ask any two OG or Veteranos the same question about their gangs past and get two seperate answers. So I wanted to know what the truth was, especially after other gang investigators in other states, now being hit with our gang members who were migrating from our town to their areas, were calling me and asking me not only what we'd done to fight the gang culture, but how did it all begin. They didn't want to make the same mistakes. So I went back, into the 50', the 40's, the 30's, even back to 1892 when it all begins, to see how it started, and what the city did to suppress the gang culture, both the stuff that worked, and the stuff that didn't.

For more information about gangs you can read my other book Boot: An L.A.P.D. Officer's Rookie Year which details my first year as a street cop in South Central during the Crip and Blood wars of 1990. I will also soon be publishing a book called "The Tequila Triangle" which is a history of Mexican Border drug cartels like The Gulf, Juarez, Tijuana, Sonora, etc. Cartels; as well as the "Sicario" (assassination) groups like the Sinaloan Cowboys, Zetas and Kaibiles; and how all these organizations have corrupted and influened Los Angeles' gang and drug culture; and where these ties could be taking our country!

I read Mr. Dunn's first book BOOT and loved it. My son is a police officer and it gave me great insight. So I thought I'd read this when I found he wrote a second. he is a wonderful writer, and he brings back 1940's and 1950's Los Angeles, and the way the gang stuff was going, just as I saw it. This is a fine book and i recommend it to anyone who doesn't know anything about gangs but wants to become an expert overnight. Now i know why we have a War on Gangs.

With the American Mafia pretty much out of the picture, its having relocated to more white collar Wall Street crime (where there's plenty of company), the spread of gangs in the country's cities and smaller population centers where there's construction or some type of meat processing work to be had has become a real problem and a bigger threat to city life than ever before.
"The Gangs Of Los Angeles", by William Dunn, is a bit of a knock off of the classic "Gangs Of New York", but no less important or interesting. From the "Tomato Gangs" to the "West Side Story" style gangs of the late '50s, to the riots in Watts in 1965 and up to present day terrors like the Bloods and Crip gangs and Latin gangs like the dreaded MS13, Dunn paints a bleak picture, but also places the blame on lazy parenting, lack of a male authority figure and the nation's most historically corrupt and racist police force as ingredients in this violent stew that has spread nationwide.
The passion is there, the research is fine. The editing and grammar, however, are absolutely unforgivable for a published book. I have never read a book so full of misspelled words, even in direct quotes from other sources, poor punctuation, and italicizing where none is needed or makes sense. While I am the last to criticize his knowledge of his subject or his obvious concern, I recommend any further printings undergo a serious editing job. Such a botched script is insulting and costs the book two points. I'll edit a new manuscript for you, Mr. Dunn at a fair price if you're interested, because whomever your publisher and editor is, they sure aren't doing their job.

"The Gangs of Los Angeles", William Dunn, NY, iUniverse, Inc., 2007, ISBN: 978-0-595-44357-4, Pbk, 272 pgs. Includes Preface 3 pgs. Table Contents 1 pg.. 9" x 6".

A recognized gang expert and CRASH officer, UCLA Graduate Wm. Dunn is Detective Sgt. With Los Angeles Police Department. He has extensive first-hand knowledge of currently active gangs of their evolution and has provided nationwide instruction on the current MS-13 gang epidemic. Dunn provides a revealing accounting of the history of gangs since Biblical times and emphasizes the origin and evolution of Hispanic gangs, the Mexican Mafia, Blood & Crips, Hells Angeles, and details on dozens of the hundreds of other gangs now dispersed throughout the United States. He describes methodologies used by police, public officials and International authorities is identifying and dealing with gangs - with succinct commentary of the effectiveness or deleterious consequences of different intervention programs. Of especial importance is his depiction of the Mara Salvatrucha and its various offshoots, all of Salvadoran origin

Inveiglements for added clarity to this book would have been inclusion of maps of Greater LA, Mexican Counties and the Countries of Central America. This book is concise, covers the A to Zs of gangs and gangsters in its 19 chapters; and it is truly a classic book of the rise and dissemination of gangs, their diverse memberships, activities and influences throughout many parts of the world. Although moderately technical with names, dates and memberships, I'd consider it to be "Gangs 101" for anyone who professes to be knowledgeable in gangs and their activities. The disastrous consequences of "Sanctuary Cities" is provided, noting Los Angeles City and Boston join the ranks with San Francisco on aiding and abetting these most evil criminal elements. [Too many Mayors seem to put themselves above the law (are they "on the take" or just stupid?)].

Dunn is not only an accomplished writer but he is a refined historian with excellent citing and commentary on those economic, military and political forces which helped shaped gangland activity that now is overtly involved in money laundering, drugs (heroin, crack cocaine, methamphetamine, Marijuana), prostitution and more recently, International Terrorism. It's a good read, one that's hard to put down!

This book is kind of a hot mess. The publisher obviously could not afford any editing services whatsoever, as grammatical and spelling errors abound. (A fact that also makes you wonder about its factual accuracy - no editor usually means no fact checker.) There are overly long chapters that try to provide a sweeping history of several Central American nations, which are overkill as the main point seems to be: MS-13 are ruthless because they come from horrible situations. Well you could've summed that up without going into so much detail. At the same time, the history of black gangs is not given nearly as much attention - the author appears to be obsessed with providing a minute and comprehensive picture of Latino gangs in particular. In the process, an overall focus on the titular subject - the Gangs of LA - is lacking. What about Asian gangs? What about girl gangs? Etc.

Having said all that, however, the book is for the most part an entertaining and informative read. Interesting little bits of gang culture are dropped here and there, such as the origin of the term "ese," which I'd always wondered about. Dunn's heart is generally in the right place - he recognizes that gangs are the product of economic inequity and racist public policy, and is in favor of prevention and intervention programs. I just wish that a book bearing this title were a more truly authoritative account of the subject at hand.

Was it hubris? Was it ignorance? Was it just plain arrogance that stopped the author from getting some much needed help penning this book? These are the questions which ran through my mind as I waded through William Dunn's "The Gangs of Los Angeles." To be fair though, "The Gangs of Los Angeles" is a compelling read in some ways. It contains a good examination of the evolution of L.A. gangs, as well an overview of gang culture throughout history. Nevertheless, Dunn's writing leaves a lot to be desired. His frequent mistakes with grammar, punctuation, and word choice are extremely distracting, and all one can think while reading his work is, "WHY THE HELL DIDN'T THIS GUY HIRE A PROFESSIONAL EDITOR?!?" The book makes it clear that Dunn did his homework regarding, not just L.A. gangs, but also subjects ranging from early New York City to the international cocaine trade to the Central American revolutions of the 1970s. Dunn is obviously an excellent researcher with experience on the street, and the biggest tragedy of "The Gangs of Los Angeles" is that it could have been a classic. Reading Dunn's final product, however, is sort of like listening to a scratched up Rolling Stones CD; you want to rock out to "Jumpin' Jack Flash," but every time you try to get into the song, the disc starts skipping.

The bottom line: "The Gangs of Los Angeles" is painted with broad brushstrokes and won't give you comprehensive insight into any of L.A.'s gangs. As to the latter point, Florencia 13 isn't even mentioned until page 253, and there's barely any mention of the riveting history of ES White Fence or Clanton 14. Nevertheless, if you want a very basic overview of L.A. ganglife and some of its historical antecedants, then you might want to give this book a shot.

Completely agree w/ Scott Hedegard's review, so won't repeat it. Suffice it to say that when I came upon an apostrophe which was *correctly* used I whooped with joy. The lack of seriousness the manuscript was given in terms editing/proofreading the grammar, syntex, spelling, and use of random italics distinctly undermines the scholarly approach Mr. Dunn is taking towards this subject.

This is a good account of the history of gangs in Los Angeles but also covers New York in the 1800s and ancient Rome, etc. I think more time should have been spent on Los Angeles it self. But the author's coverage of Los Angeles was excellent. I think more on the car club culture of the fifties and early sixties could have been covered. I was in a car club in the San Fernando Valley and there were about fifty other clubs at the time. Some were lame but many were hardcore and fights among clubs were frequent (although nothing like today's gangs). It was fists and tire irons but never any killing. I think the club the author mentioned in Sun Valley was mispelled. It should have been the Uhlans. Anyway, the book is a great read anyway.

William Dunn has written an excellent book about the history of gangs in Los Angeles. He weaves together the history of the gangs, the LAPD and the city, while deftly explaining to the reader why all of these details matter.

In 'The Gangs of Los Angeles', the author cites many Los Angeles-based newspapers, providing a useful source of information for future generations of local historians, researchers and writers.

A compilation of movers and shakers in gangland L.A. The book is historically correct in detail and content. I can't think what gang activity got left in the editor's wastebasket; it's all here in its seamy metropolitan underbelly. How the gangs began, why they started and what they're up to these days--and nights. Fascinating account of what we don't or didn't know. A true eye-opener, even for a native Angeleno.